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- readytotaxi
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Martinique not popular where the UK?
Browsing the internet I was unable to find any direct flights from the UK to the island. Go via France or Canada, Such a loverly island with as much to offer as the rest of the Carib, is this a hidden gem as far as the UK is concerned?
Last edited by SQ22 on Wed May 17, 2023 6:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Title updated
Reason: Title updated
Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
It's considered part of France. I think the British would rather go to ex-British colonies.
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- PatrickZ80
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Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
Indeed which Caribbean destinations are popular with which European countries highly depends on their colonial past. Martinique is a French island, as such it has flights to France but not to the UK.
You'll find similar situations for, let's say, Curacao. That's a Dutch island, it was part of the Netherlands Antilles before it became independent. There are flights from the Netherlands to Curacao, but not from the UK.
On the other hand you'll find that for example the Bahamas got flights to the UK, but not to any other European country. That's because the Bahamas were a British colony.
You'll find similar situations for, let's say, Curacao. That's a Dutch island, it was part of the Netherlands Antilles before it became independent. There are flights from the Netherlands to Curacao, but not from the UK.
On the other hand you'll find that for example the Bahamas got flights to the UK, but not to any other European country. That's because the Bahamas were a British colony.
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- davidjohnson6
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Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
I think it is more likely that people choose an island for a holiday based on language spoken rather than "they used to be part of our Empire".
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- GalaxyFlyer
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Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
Brits have Bahamas, Bermuda, and Barbados
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- PatrickZ80
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Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
davidjohnson6 wrote:I think it is more likely that people choose an island for a holiday based on language spoken rather than "they used to be part of our Empire".
For holidays, yes. That's true. However a lot of traffic between those islands and Europe is VFR, people in Europe got friends and family living on these islands and vice versa. A leftover from the colonial times, when it was not uncommon for one part of the family to live in a European country and the other part of the family to live in a colony of that country.
Often there are also business ties between those islands and their "mother" countries, for example many Dutch companies have business ties with Curacao. That all adds to the amount of traffic, many of those flights can't sustain on holiday traffic alone. But you won't find many British companies with business ties to Curacao for example. They got business ties with the Bahamas, where Dutch companies don't have business ties.
The language can be a benefit, for example I know of one Dutch company that operates a 24/7 call center in Dutch. During the daytime they use a call center in the Netherlands. In the evening, when the call center in the Netherlands closes, everything is being forwarded to the call center in Curacao where it's daytime then. When it's evening in Curacao (in the middle of the night in the Netherlands), they forward everything to a call center in Indonesia where there are also plenty of Dutch-speaking people to be found. And when it gets evening in Jakarta it's morning in the Netherlands so the Dutch call center takes over again. That way, by having three call centers throughout the world operating during their daytime, they operate a 24-hour call center. The people calling don't notice anything, it's the same number.
But such business deals do require that every once in a while someone flies between the Netherlands and Curacao. And that's just one example of business traffic between the Netherlands and Curacao, but you won't find such business traffic between the UK and Curacao.
Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
davidjohnson6 wrote:Isn't it interrelated? Former British colonies speak English, former French colonies speak French, etc...I think it is more likely that people choose an island for a holiday based on language spoken rather than "they used to be part of our Empire".
Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
Colonies / former colonies / overseas territories
Martinique , Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy = French
St. Martin / St. Maarten = French / Dutch
Saba = Dutch
St.Thomas = Former Danish colony today US controlled
Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao = Netherlandse Antilles = Dutch
Cayman Islands, Britsh virgin islands, Anguilla, Monserrate, Turks and Caicos Islands = United Kingdom
Puerto Rico = USA
and then you have several other islands that has become independant but was formally colonies of other nations
Martinique , Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy = French
St. Martin / St. Maarten = French / Dutch
Saba = Dutch
St.Thomas = Former Danish colony today US controlled
Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao = Netherlandse Antilles = Dutch
Cayman Islands, Britsh virgin islands, Anguilla, Monserrate, Turks and Caicos Islands = United Kingdom
Puerto Rico = USA
and then you have several other islands that has become independant but was formally colonies of other nations
Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
Mortyman wrote:Colonies / former colonies / overseas territories
Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands = United Kingdom
Speaking of Montserrat, how is access to that island at present? They lost their international airport and their capital, Plymouth, when the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted back in the Nineties.
https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=360050
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- eta unknown
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Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
You can't get gin & tonic in Martinique, You get pastis. British people don't like pastis, so they'll continue to go to Bahamas, Barbados, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia, Tobago, Turks, etc...
Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
SkyVoice wrote:Mortyman wrote:Colonies / former colonies / overseas territories
Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands = United Kingdom
Speaking of Montserrat, how is access to that island at present? They lost their international airport and their capital, Plymouth, when the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted back in the Nineties.
https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=360050
A new airport was built on the north side of the island, opened in the mid-2000s. Unrelated, but I flew past Montserrat a few years ago while the volcano was actively erupting. A pretty cool sight.
Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
Is there healthy J-class type of travelers from the UK to Barbados, Antigua, St.Lucia, Bahamas, and Bermuda?
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- eta unknown
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Re: Martinigue not popular where the UK?
seat1a wrote:Is there healthy J-class type of travelers from the UK to Barbados, Antigua, St.Lucia, Bahamas, and Bermuda?
BA used to frequently run Concorde flights to Barbados.
Re: Martinique not popular where the UK?
The French islands live in a French language bubble. Because of this there is the perception that English isnt as widely spoken in the resoirt areas as would be the case with the Dom Rep. and Cancun, both of which attract significant numbers of UK visitors.
Out of the USA the French islands only attract a niche Francophile US visitor. And the bulk of their Canadian visitors are from Quebec, and not the more prosperous Ontario, which also has a larger population.
FDF/PTP are actually in Europe, odd as that might seem, so this is who they cater to. They seem to be attracting Italians, Germans and obviously Belgians.
The DR and pre Covid Cuba attracted the broadest range of visitors without regard to language.
Out of the USA the French islands only attract a niche Francophile US visitor. And the bulk of their Canadian visitors are from Quebec, and not the more prosperous Ontario, which also has a larger population.
FDF/PTP are actually in Europe, odd as that might seem, so this is who they cater to. They seem to be attracting Italians, Germans and obviously Belgians.
The DR and pre Covid Cuba attracted the broadest range of visitors without regard to language.
Re: Martinique not popular where the UK?
BA has just started to serve Aruba which is a former Dutch Island via Antigua. The only other destination served that wasn't British is Puerto Plata.
Re: Martinique not popular where the UK?
deed30 wrote:BA has just started to serve Aruba which is a former Dutch Island via Antigua. The only other destination served that wasn't British is Puerto Plata.
It is only the English and French Caribbean which struggles to be major players outside of the language blocs. The Dutch are multilingual and I guess Spanish isnt high prestige enough for the locals to assume that everyone must speak it, so those in the hospitality sectors make an effort to be multilingual.
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